Butterfly Effects, Seanan McGuire
Butterfly Effects, Seanan McGuire
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Butterfly Effects
An InCryptid Novel

Author: Seanan McGuire

Series: InCryptid #15

Narrator: Emily Bauer

Unabridged: 13 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/10/2026


Synopsis

Seanan McGuire’s New York Times-bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated InCryptid series continues with the fifteenth book following the Price family, cryptozoologists who study and protect the creatures living in secret all around us.

"Emily Bauer's narration of this contemporary ghost story is a poignant, pitch-perfect success" —Kirkus on Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day

Sarah Zellaby is a Johrlac, a member of a species of psychic ambush predators colloquially referred to as “cuckoos.” Eight years ago, she survived the difficult, painful process of becoming a cuckoo queen…although not without costs. In the wake of her transformation, the man she loved was entirely erased from his own mind, forcing her to reconstruct him from the memories of the people who knew and loved him.

Sarah has been struggling to come to terms with her actions ever since. But there's no one else on the planet with the power to hold her accountable—until the Johrlac authorities show up. It’s time for her to stand trial for what she's done, something which can only happen on Johrlar, home world of her species, where the population is controlled by a system of unyielding hiveminds and crime is punishable by erasure.

With Sarah’s life on the line, her family will need to find a way to cross dimensional borders and survive a hostile, telepathic world in order to get her back—before the Sarah they know ceases to exist.

But no matter what happens, actions have consequences... and Sarah Zellaby is about to learn that lesson the hard way.

Chaos, noun:
1. The inherent unpredictability in the behavior of a complex natural system.

Chaos theory, noun:
1. A branch of mathematical and physical theory that deals with the nature and consequences of chaos and chaotic systems.
2. The study of unpredictable systems.
3. See also “impossible math.”

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books

About Seanan McGuire

SEANAN McGUIRE is the author of the Hugo, Nebula, Alex, and Locus Award–winning Wayward Children series, the October Daye series, the InCryptid series, and other works. She also writes darker fiction as Mira Grant. Seanan lives in Seattle with her cats, a vast collection of creepy dolls, horror movies, and sufficient books to qualify her as a fire hazard. She won the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and in 2013 became the first person to appear five times on the same Hugo ballot. In 2022 she managed the same feat, again!

About Emily Bauer

Emily Bauer is an award-winning voiceover actress who has read for dozens of popular audiobooks for children and adults, including Margery Williams’s Velveteen Rabbit, Meg Cabot’s Insatiable, and Ann Aguirre’s Enclave. Her film credits include Mona Lisa Smile and Long Distance. She has done voiceovers for Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Pokemon and has voiced scores of TV and radio commercials as well as cartoons, talking toys, and video games. She lives in New York.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Brok3n on September 29, 2025

A new direction for the Incryptid series Butterfly Effects is the fifteenth full novel in Seanan McGuire's Incryptid series. The Incryptid series tells the story of the Price family in North America. The Prices make habits and maybe careers of succoring cryptids, which in this world are very real, an......more

Goodreads review by Robin on March 15, 2026

3.5 You Break It, You Buy It Stars The entire Incryptid series has followed various members of the Price family through their conflicts with The Covenant and sometimes the InCryptid community. Butterfly Effects takes us to a different dimension and the main planet of the Johrlac's with Sarah. She is......more

Goodreads review by Brenn on March 11, 2026

This story, combined with it's bonus novella, it feels like an ending of an era. I had reread Installment Immortality before this one arrived and yeah. It's a good wrap for this era of InCryptid. Now for the next adventure........more

Goodreads review by Jennybeast on August 19, 2025

Aaaaaahhh, finally back to the main storyline (I know, they are all main storylines, but I've been waiting for Sarah's to move along for ages). So satisfying to see these plotlines move through into actual adventures, and to learn more about the Jhorlac. So pleasing to see how relationships are play......more


Quotes

Two-time finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Series

"Deeply satisfying.... Fans will not be disappointed."—Publishers Weekly on Installment Immortality

“The only thing more fun than an October Daye book is an InCryptid book. Swift narrative, charm, great world-building...all the McGuire trademarks.” —Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series

“Highly entertaining…. A joyous romp that juggles action, magic, and romance to great effect.”—Publishers Weekly on Tricks for Free

“Kind of like taking a tour through a very deadly theme park made up of alternating parts awesome and terrifying. Come to think of it, that sums up this series quite nicely.” —Reactor, on Half-Off Ragnarok

McGuire has honed her craft over a decade-plus of writing, and if you call yourself a sci-fi or fantasy fan, yet haven’t picked her work up, you’re doing yourself a disservice.” —Culturess

“McGuire’s InCryptid series is one of the most reliably imaginative and well-told sci-fi series to be found.... McGuire’s heroine is a brave, resourceful and sarcastic delight, and her intrepid comrades are just the kind of supportive and snarky sidekicks she needs.” —RT Reviews

“While chock-full of quality worldbuilding, realistic characters, and a double helping of sass, at its core, Half-Off Ragnarok is a book about judging others according to stereotypes, how nurture can overcome nature, and the importance of family.” —Ranting Dragon

The InCryptid series continues to be storytelling at its best. Tricks for Free sends us on a rollercoaster of emotions and thrills with its engaging plot and ever-expanding and fascinating world.” —All Things Urban Fantasy

Imaginary Numbers is a stunning installment and one that every urban fantasy reader is sure to relish.” —Fresh Fiction